Chapter 39 (Bug running)

"Your Highness, this is the list of spies that General Lin found."

Zhou Chaoyun took a look and saw that the densely packed names filled her vision, and there was more than one page. She couldn't help but sigh, "Did Yangcheng build an army within his spies?"

After finally realizing they weren't spies, a closer look revealed they were actually internal agents recruited by the enemy.

It would be strange if Yangcheng didn't have ghosts.

Upon reading the rest, Zhou Chaoyun burst out laughing and cheerfully showed the letter to his staff: "Take a look, it's really interesting."

The letter had been delivered urgently today, and they hadn't seen it yet. They took it from the princess and gathered around to read it together.

Lin Quan is a top-notch war expert with zero political acumen; if a "lack of tact" competition were held, he would win by a landslide.

This led to the joke that "anyone can join the army." Ironically, he managed to bind everyone who could cause the defeat into a precarious position, making it difficult for them to frame him, even though they wanted to.

And so, maintaining a strange balance, they won war after war.

If he were just an insignificant junior officer, he might not have become a thorn in everyone's side.

Because he won too much, the enemy wanted to send people to stop him, but every time they went, Lin Quan blocked them. The enemy, not believing in his luck, sent more people, but they were also blocked and their progress was hindered. In the end, many people were sent in, but nothing was accomplished. Instead, Lin Quan won the battle.

To be precise, it can't all be blamed on Lin Quan. After all, if the enemy wanted to send someone to cause sabotage, they would naturally send someone with some skill.

These days, ordinary people who have never served in the army can at most wield a big knife to chop or a hoe to smash. If someone suddenly appears who can wield a knife and a gun, isn't that a good soldier sent from heaven? Lin Quan couldn't refuse.

Later on, even when he discovered that the other party was a spy, he turned a blind eye because of the other party's martial arts skills. However, he was severely restricted by Lin Quan in the matter of framing the Da'an army.

Seeing that the princess seemed very concerned about the spies in Yangcheng's army, Lin Quan made up his mind and sent someone to investigate. What he found shocked him.

It was much more than he had imagined!

Feeling guilty, he quickly reported to the authorities and obediently followed the instructions in the letter from the Princess's residence.

Upon seeing this, Cui Shu chuckled: "Isn't this just using the enemy's men to fight against themselves?"

Gongsun Ming nodded: "And they even won."

Qi Nian thought differently, and he exclaimed, "General Lin Quan is quite a remarkable person."

Gongsun Ming: "Given his prowess, under what circumstances would the Yangcheng army have been defeated?"

Cui Shu laughed and said, "It is obvious that the Yangcheng army can only be commanded by him. Without him, these spies can instantly turn into jackals and tear Yangcheng to shreds."

Then, Lin Quan sighed at the decision to write "The Spy Who Kills Each Other," and the others nodded in agreement after reading it.

In short, this was a decision made by combining a werewolf game proposed by a woman surnamed Shang, which was then modified by Cui Shu into a local version, and Lin Quan was put in charge of its execution.

The spies on the list were gathered together, including those from the opposition forces in Yangcheng, spies from the Xianbei nobles, spies within the Xianbei army, and spies sent by officials in Da'an who were dissatisfied with Lin Quan to monitor or win them over.

Under the guise of forming a new assault army, he gathered people together, and then Lin Quan presided over the meeting and said: "There are spies among you. Whoever can find the most will become my deputy general and the leader of the new army."

Upon hearing this, the entire army of villains went into overdrive, suspecting and framing each other. They even resorted to the dirty tricks they had originally intended for Lin Quan, hoping to frame him and clear their names as spies.

In the end, they became bloodthirsty and didn't care whether they were teammates or sent by the same master. They killed anyone they didn't know, and in the end, almost no one survived.

Qi Nian laughed so hard she bent over: "What a dog-eat-dog show!"

Gongsun Ming: "What a cunning trick."

Cui Shu: "They killed themselves through underhanded means; we only said a few words."

"Let's take another look at the profits from the Tea Horse Road." Zhou Chaoyun handed over the secret document he had finished reading.

As the three were looking, Yi'an entered the study, and soon, another head squeezed in from the three stacked heads.

Qi Nian was more interested in making money. After scanning the area, he summarized: "The major buyers of tea are still the nobles of the Xianbei. Apart from the expenses of the caravan's long journey, the amount of money they spend exceeds our expectations."

Gongsun Ming pointed to a spot: "Their attitude toward Da'an has softened considerably in the deal. Two years ago, this person was a staunch advocate of war, but judging from this news, it seems that he has given up the idea of ​​war."

The Xianbei people usually migrated south because of poor harvests and insufficient food to support their tribe through the winter, so they plundered the winter supplies of the people of Da'an.

Since the tea-horse trade, the Xianbei people have experienced the convenience of exchanging sheep, cattle, and horses for rare goods and crops to fill their stomachs. They naturally learned to temper their fierce nature and replace brutal fighting with safer purchasing.

He breathed a sigh of relief: "It seems there won't be a war."

Cui Shu disagreed: "The Xianbei have a poor harvest this year, a rare 'famine year.' Moreover, as mentioned later, the Khan has issued a ban on buying. How could the jackals who have tasted the delicious food be willing to give it up? I'm afraid that once they are completely suppressed, they will have no way to avoid the backlash in the end."

Zhou Chaoyun clearly agreed with Cui Shu's viewpoint and supported it, saying, "That's right, I'm considering leading the expedition myself."

The words startled everyone in the room, leaving them at a loss for words. Yi'an reacted quickly: "Your Highness, you mustn't! The Xianbei are treacherous and cunning. Wouldn't it be dangerous for you to go?"

"Fortune favors the bold; you might just receive an unexpected windfall."

Gongsun Ming asked incredulously, "Cui Shu?"

Cui Shu half-covered his face with a feather fan, revealing his narrowed eyes: "If we win this battle, Yangcheng will be stable, we will win the hearts of the people, and at the same time we can curb the corrupt atmosphere in the court."

He respectfully said to the princess, "Please grant me permission to accompany you, Your Highness."

Zhou Chaoyun was determined, and with Cui Shu's support, no one could dissuade him. He had no choice but to agree and begin preparations for the expedition.

.

A hundred miles north of Yangcheng, there were about a dozen felt tents. The further out you went, the simpler the tents became. The outermost tents barely maintained their shape and trembled in the howling wind, like powerless old men, making you worry that they might be blown away by the wind.

The wind in the north was like a knife, mercilessly and fiercely cutting into my body. The snow covered my face, and my breath quickly froze into ice due to the cold, hanging upside down as icicles from my eyelashes and hair.

Winter falls early on the grasslands. The young man groped his way back to his lodgings, guided by his memory. He lifted a corner of the felt tent and said, "Sister, I'm back."

The frail girl lying on the bed responded and then closed her eyes again.

The boy crushed the dry biscuits he had been carrying all the way, poured them into the warm goat milk and stirred them. Once they were mixed, he picked up a bowl and brought it to his older sister on the bed.

My sister's hands were dry and rough. Years of hard work had taken their toll on her body. In a mistake, she was severely punished by an angry nobleman. She was injured and did not receive medical treatment, and she never recovered.

The boy rambled on, “Sister, I’ll take the lamb out to trade for it tomorrow. I can… I can trade it for salt that’s as white as snow. I heard from the nobles that the tea they sell is magical; it can cure stomach aches. They also have soap that can wash away dirt. And they have a lot of herbs; maybe they have medicine that can cure your illness.”

He paused, then added, "And they only want lambs and foals."

Those nobles didn't treat them like human beings, exploiting them like livestock. Compared to the clearly marked transactions in Da'an, the nobles wanted their lives.

Qiqige swallowed the goat milk mixed with dry biscuits stuck in his throat with difficulty, and slowly said, "The Khan... forbids us from trading with them anymore. If we are discovered, we will die..."

"I'll go to Yangcheng secretly; I won't be discovered."

"Rakar, please don't go. You can go however you want once things have calmed down."

Rakar looked at her stubbornly: "If I don't go, you won't survive this winter!"

He only has his older sister as family, and if he doesn't give it his all, he'll definitely regret it later.

Qiqige choked back tears, saying, "It's all my fault, it's all my fault..."

"Sister is not wrong, the fault clearly lies with those nobles!"

"Stop talking, Rakar, stop talking."

.

The capital city, the residence of the Second Prince.

A few days ago, the master, in a fit of anger, punished many servants, causing the mansion to fall into silence, for fear of saying or doing the wrong thing and losing their lives.

It was early morning, past the time when the Second Prince usually woke up, but he didn't call for anyone.

The servants were timid, so they left some men outside to wait for the summons, and sent others to call the steward. But when the steward arrived, there was still no movement from inside the house.

The steward glanced at the locked door, swallowed hard, and asked into the room, "Your Highness, are you awake?"

There was a rustling sound coming from inside the house, and then Zhou Ao called out, "Come in."

The servants moved swiftly and smoothly, serving the person before quietly withdrawing.

The charcoal fire inside was plentiful, and the steward, who was out working, was dressed warmly. After a while, he began to sweat profusely, but even so, since His Highness did not speak, he continued to stand.

A moment later, Zhou Ao's question broke the tense silence in the room: "Find someone named 'Jiang Xiqu' for me, at any cost."

The person in charge maintained a respectful posture with his head bowed and eyes lowered, unaware of the strange glint in Zhou Ao's eyes.

After the steward left, Zhou Ao stood up, threw his head back, and laughed heartily, his heart pounding with excitement.

All I need is to get that person!

Everyone will bow down to him!

This is definitely not a dream; it is a sign from heaven that the throne will eventually be his.

Even if Zhou Chaoyun makes money, helps with disaster relief, and wins the hearts of the people, what good will it do?

Heaven is on his side, otherwise it wouldn't have foretold in his dream that he would ascend the throne!

.

It was pitch black all around, except for the light that shone through the open door. A person stood in the doorway with his back to the light. Jiang Xi couldn't see his face, but judging from his clothes, he was probably a wealthy person.

“My lord, I rescued you from your wasted time at the Jiang residence. Shouldn’t you thank me?”

What is he talking nonsense? It was clearly Aji who brought me out of the Jiang residence.

Those hidden in the darkness remain silent and do not utter a word.

The man said softly, "It's nothing, I don't need you to thank me. It's just that an old friend of your mother's wants to see you."

He turned to the side, revealing a woman dressed in blue-purple clothes behind him. Jiang Xi couldn't see who it was, but he had a gut feeling that this person was Hui Gu.

In a daze, he forgot what Huigu had said to him. Afterwards, he stayed in that dark room for a long time, living with a bunch of strange-looking reptiles.

There was an eerie sense of security in the darkness. Before Aji came, he had always lived in the shadows, sitting alone in solitude.

But in his hazy dream, he did not see Aji.

Why doesn't Aji come to see him anymore?

Where did Aji go?

Even though he repeatedly asked Hui Gu and the man, they seemed not to hear him, repeating the same words and doing the same actions every day, in an endless cycle.

He was the only one who didn't receive any news about Aji.

It felt as if water was gradually rising above my chest, engulfing my mouth and nose, and a feeling of suffocation welled up inside me.

He couldn't stay in this room any longer; he had to go out and find Aji.

His legs, which he hadn't used in a long time, felt weak, and he staggered to the door, only to find that he couldn't open it.

He pounded on the door with all his might, but it didn't budge.

Is it possible that he will never find Aji again?

Tears streamed down his face uncontrollably. Just then, the man whose face he couldn't see appeared again. He promised that if he helped him with something, he would grant his wish.

After that, many experiences became unclear.

Even as soon as he woke up from his dream, the images in the dream vanished in an instant.

The only feeling of emptiness in his heart still affected him.

As dawn broke, the faint light streaming through the wooden window illuminated a bright red corner of the room.

With Ah Ji's birthday approaching, this was the gift he had prepared for her.

He secretly squeezed out time every day to make gifts, just so he could give Ah Ji a big surprise on that day.

He woke up this morning and was supposed to continue making gifts as planned, but suddenly he wanted to see Ah Ji again, just once.

He missed her a little.

When Shang Yuji got up and opened the door, she found someone standing straight outside.

When he realized it was Jiang Xi, who was simply wearing an outer garment, he suddenly hugged her tightly. Her long, unbound hair fell across her face, tickling her slightly. She asked:

"What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"

“I don’t remember, but I really want to see you.” He rubbed against her, and then Shang Yuji pulled him into the house in her arms.

She released her embrace and pressed him down to sit on the edge of the bed: "Now that you've seen him, quickly find some clothes to wear, or you'll catch a cold."

The charcoal fire was still burning inside. As he entered the room filled with Aji's scent, his unease finally dissipated. He responded and went to the wardrobe to find his clothes and put them on.

Shang Yuji didn't urge her. The bed was still warm, the result of her hard work wrapping herself up all night.

Amidst his rustling noises, Shang Yuji closed her eyes, the lingering drowsiness washing over her, and she quickly drifted off to sleep.